STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Staten Island is rightly known as the "Borough of Parks," with more than 10,000 acres of parkland.

And we're going to become even greener once Freshkills Park and its 3,000 additional acres comes fully online.

It's a point of pride for Island residents, that our borough is the most bucolic in the city. Go to some wooded areas, and you'll forget you're even in New York City at all. People from upstate could come here to watch the leaves turn in the autumn.

But the borough needs proper funding so our parklands and facilities remain in the best condition. A report from the Center for an Urban Future shows just how far we have to go.

It's not a pretty picture.

The report said that Island parks receive the smallest amount of maintenance funding of any borough. It says that we don't have enough staff to care for our parks.

The report said that the average borough park is 51 years old, and on average hasn't seen an update since 1995. Seven parks here had not received a major upgrade in more than half a century, the report said.

On top of that, the borough park system lacks the plumbers, gardeners, electricians and masons needed to address problems before they get out of hand. Capital investment has also been inadequate. Too many footbridges and trails have fallen into disrepair. Projects can take too many years to complete.

Never mind that the Mariners Marsh city park remains completely off limits because of an environmental cleanup.

It's gotten to the point where private citizens have sometimes stepped in to take up some of the slack. One example: The Silver Lake Park Conservancy. Under leader Domenick DeRubbio, volunteers do jobs like clearing brush, painting benches and doing repairs. Portable bathrooms have also been installed in the park.

It's good to see the community involved, to see people take ownership of the parks that they enjoy. But locals can't do it all.

And it's not just city parks that have problems.

The Advance recently detailed problems with trash and poor groundskeeping at Miller Field, which is under the federal National Parks Service. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) has demanded an investigation.

The NPS has pointed to staff shortages, and added that resources have been re-allocated and the problems addressed. Sounds like they need some additional funds as well.

Radium-contaminated Great Kills Park, also under the auspices of the NPS, has been closed for years. Clean-up plans are in the works, but it will be years before the park is re-opened.

There have been successes. Newly renovated city parks like Big Park, McDonald Park and Levy Playground have seen recent ribbon-cuttings here.

The Parks Department said it has cut the ribbon and broken ground on 10 Island sites since the beginning of this year. There are 25 projects in active construction around the Island.

It's all well and good. But in addition to money being spent on new projects and renovations, any parks system needs a constant stream of money for maintenance and upkeep. It's more cost efficient to address things as you go, as opposed to having to do major repairs and renovations.

This has to be part of any parks planning that goes forward, including for Freshkills Park. Once a park is up and running, how do we keep it in the best repair? Lawmakers do what they can, allocating millions upon millions of dollars to parks. The money has to be spent wisely, and maintenance has to be park of the equation.

Building a park is no good if you let it crumble and get overgrown. We have to change how we approach these things. Now's a good time to start.